People wait for a bus outside a shuttered art center in Detroit. Mayor Dave Bing is challenging the Census Bureau's count that put the city's population below the important threshold of 750,000, the level needed to qualify for some state and federal aid programs. (Associated Press)

What do the following five things have in common? The highest corporate-tax rate in the world; high personal and small-business taxes; the Affordable Care Act; an oppressive regulatory atmosphere with intimidation rather than help from the government; and overly aggressive environmental-protection policies.

These five things — along with the devaluing of the U.S. dollar by the constant printing of money backed up by nothing but reputation — are largely responsible for an extremely sluggish economy that has little hope of improvement without a drastic change in economic philosophy.

I was recently talking to a couple of very well-known entrepreneurs who had been extremely successful in creating vibrant businesses in the past.

Both said they would not even consider starting a new business in the current economic environment. I also asked some people who had started companies that are household names whether they think they could have succeeded in today’s environment. Their answer was a resounding no.

This economic environment is toxic for growth. Americans must face the reality that our massive federal debt will eventually drown our children if we don’t have the courage to act now and stop kicking the can down the road.

It may feel good to some to print money at will and borrow as long as someone will lend us money, but what does this say about our compassion for those who will follow us?

Having grown up in Detroit, I am particularly sad to see what has happened to a once-vibrant city that was the wealthiest in the nation. Many blame unions for strangling the goose that laid the golden egg, but unions serve their members and seldom have a big-picture perspective that takes into account the well-being of the larger society.

I believe a great deal of the fault resides with the upper management of the Big Three automobile companies, who tolerated the excesses of the unions. They must have been fully aware that in due time, the consequences of such actions would be devastating not only to the automobile companies, but to the city, the state and the nation.

Of course, by that time, they would have long ago escaped with their golden parachutes. Detroit is but a harbinger of the fate that will befall our beloved nation if we don’t heed the warnings so vividly placed before us.

Moreover, this toxic business environment is the perfect cultural medium for the growth of victimhood and the entitlement mentality. Political correctness dictates that one should never say such a thing for fear of being labeled heartless. I not only reject outright such foolishness, but rather I feel very strongly that these measures that suppress economic development also suppress the hopes and dreams of many Americans.

I fear that the secular progressives have been winning lately by succeeding in convincing large portions of the population that they should be more concerned about the benefits they can collect than about the opportunities they lose when their God-given talents for achievement are replaced with dependence on government.

We need to understand the connection between dynamic economic growth and the general welfare of the people. For anyone who does not understand: Robust economic growth creates plenty of jobs and opportunities for everyone and decreases the need for government dependency.

Some on the side of big government will say, “There you go again talking about trickle-down economic theory,” as they attempt to denigrate the empirical data supporting the validity of supply-side economics. I don’t think it’s necessary to attach fancy nomenclature to a theory of common sense.

I am extremely encouraged by the resurgence of rationality I am seeing all around our country. I see people who understand that by adopting a reasonable corporate-tax rate, we can reverse the flow of economic activity out of our country.

By adopting reasonable individual and small-business tax rates, we can again encourage hard work and entrepreneurship. By taking this opportunity to look at some alternative methods of providing truly affordable health care to everyone in our nation and working together, we can all win. By having a government that minds its own constitutional business and stays out of ours, we will see a revival of the can-do attitude with explosive entrepreneurial successes.

By having an Environmental Protection Agency that works with our technological institutions, we can safely exploit the largest reserves of natural energy in the world and stop supporting those nations that desire our destruction.

We can do all this and more if we use our talents in a synergistic manner and forget about who gets the credit. Most importantly, we must remember that we have a responsibility to those who will follow us. Please, let us not fail them.

More at the link below. Carson has the right.---------------------------------------------------------Obamacare was promoted as one thing and turned out to be something quite different. In the real world, it is frequently possible to gain legal relief in the case of a fraudulent deal, but in the case of Obamacare, we are being told that it is the law of the land and that you simply must live with it.

When you place misdeeds by the government beyond the reach of normal mechanisms of recourse, you establish a condition ripe for abuse. If a bill is passed under false pretenses, shouldn’t we question its legitimacy and. at the very least, reintroduce the bill after disclosing the aspects that were hidden previously? If the bill still passes after such disclosure, it would then become legitimate. We must remember that we are talking about one-sixth of the U.S. economy. We should not be playing fast and loose with the laws and details surrounding the most important possession we have: our health. I think this would be a fair-minded solution to anyone who does not have ulterior motives in health care reform....We are better than this. We must reject the notion that slick political maneuvering and dishonesty are inevitable in government and must be tolerated. We no more need to tolerate such things than we need to tolerate tyranny. The choice is ours. Let us call upon our leaders and representatives to change the culture to one of trust and decency consistent with our Judeo-Christian values. If they refuse, we the people must remove them from office, which is our duty to ourselves and to our progeny.

"We must reject the notion that slick political maneuvering and dishonesty are inevitable in government and must be tolerated"

Thank God there ARE leaders who still believe this. I don't know why though they all seem to be religious Christians. Why is not lying a serious offence to others?

I have said before and will repeat:

Bill Clinton was the worst President in my lifetime because he and his wife made lying into an acceptable art form. He and his wife used legal style arguments as cover for outright lies. Just because your a lawyer doesn't make it ok.

I don't know how we can live in a civilized society with lying being acceptable.

Unfortunately most of us vote our pocket books and look the other way in the face of corruption, lies, and deception in some cash goes into our accounts.

One of the Commandments is thou shault not lie.

(I think this Commandment comes right after the one that states, Thou shault not offend a gay.)

I have no idea if this is legit or is just a scam to raise some money, but it does make the case for Carson:

Concerned Patriot, I’m writing to you because...I have an urgent request. Won’t you please send Ben Carson a message today?You can do that by signing the petition urging him to run for President.As you know, Dr. Ben Carson is the man who spoke boldly to President Obama at the National Prayer Breakfast last March, telling him and the nation that Obamacare is an unworkable, dangerous scheme that will hurt all Americans.Now we know that Dr. Carson was right.So, won’t you please send a message directly to Dr. Carson, telling him that he should run for President in 2016?Dr. Carson needs to hear from you today! Five reasons why Dr. Carson is our best choice for 2016...• He is the only candidate that makes it mathematically impossible for Hillary Clinton to win! • He is the only candidate who, like Ronald Reagan, can explain the fallacy of liberal schemes in terms the average American can understand. • He is the only candidate who can heal and unite America. • He is the only candidate who is a citizen statesman, the type of candidate who our Founders envisioned would lead our nation. • He is the one candidate who you can trust to stick to his conservative values, and to govern according to the United States Constitution.Reason #1: Ben Carson is sure to win!If a Republican candidate for President receives just 17% of the black vote, Hillary Clinton loses every single swing state. Did you know that in 2012 Presidential candidate Herman Cain was polling more than 40% of the black vote? Herman Cain was liked by the black community, but Dr. Ben Carson is a revered figure in the African American community.Dr. Carson is an icon in the African American community.If businessman Herman Cain could receive 40% of the black vote, Dr. Benjamin Carson would likely receive far greater support from African Americans. But, if he only receives 17% of the black vote, it becomes mathematically impossible for Hillary Clinton or any Democrat to win the White House in 2016.Reason #2: Ben Carson has the communication skills of Ronald Reagan!The Republican Party has lots of great conservatives, several of whom, in my opinion, would make a great President. They are very good people.However, not one of these prospective candidates has the wit, wisdom, and persuasive eloquence of Ronald Reagan that Dr. Ben Carson possesses.It was Ronald Reagan’s power to persuade that made it possible for him to win two landslide elections to the White House. He had the amazing ability to take a complex issue and explain it in simple, commonsense terms that the average voter could understand.Dr. Carson is blessed with those same skills. In fact, he is the first candidate since Ronald Reagan who has the necessary communication skills to be elected President of the United States.There is just no one else on the scene comparable to Dr.Carson.Reason #3: Dr. Carson is the only candidate who can heal our nation.Sadly, for the first time in American history, the President of the United States has not tried to unify our nation, instead he has made every effort to divide our nation by setting one group against another. Barack Obama has encouraged racial strife. He has encouraged the poor to hate the successful. He has worked to create anger against men by women. He has set workers against employers. He has worked to set the young against the old. In every way possible, following the dictates of his radical idol, Saul Alinsky, he has gone about dividing Americans and creating disunity.In fact, America is more divided today than it has been since the Civil War.President Ben Carson will bring our nation together. He will work to heal our wounds, and bring about reconciliation. As a Christian, Dr. Carson rejects envy and jealously as twin evils.As an African American and a leader, and one who is respected in the black community, he will bring healing and reconciliation to our land.Ben Carson has been a healer his entire life. He will seek solutions to America’s most pressing problems, and he will do it in a way that unifies and heals, not divides and creates disunity.Reason #4: Ben Carson is a citizen statesman, not a politician.It was politicians, both Democrat and Republican, that created the current mess we are in. We don’t need another politician, we need a citizen statesman.Ronald Reagan was disdained as an actor when he ran for Governor of California. They said he didn’t have the skill or experience needed to run what was the 7th largest government in the world. But, relying on commonsense and Godly wisdom, Ronald Reagan turned California around and then saved the United States from economic collapse.The last non-politician that was elected President of the United States was Dwight Eisenhower, who united our nation and faced down the Soviet Union. And, by the way, Eisenhower received 39% of the African American vote.Dr. Carson is a man of great intellect, great courage, and vast commonsense. The one book he reads every day is the Book of Proverbs where he soaks in Godly wisdom.Ben Carson has far more life experience than Barack Obama had when he was elected President as a newly minted, junior Senator from Illinois.But, far more important, we need less Washington, D.C., political experience and more real world experience, Godly wisdom, and commonsense in our next President if America is to survive.Reason #5: Ben Carson is a trustworthy conservative.He proved that he would not compromise his values when he courageously spoke directly to President Barack Obama about the danger of Obamacare at the National Prayer Breakfast. Ben Carson also didn’t mince any words about the President’s wrongheaded redistribution of income policies when he said...“When I pick up my Bible, you know what I see? I see the fairest individual in the Universe, God, and he's given us a system. It's called tithe. Now we don't necessarily have to [make] it 10%, but it's [the] principle. He didn't say, if your crops fail, don't give me any tithes. He didn't say, if you have a bumper crop, give me triple tithes. So there must be something inherently fair about proportionality.”Any American can understand exactly what Dr. Carson was talking about. How could Hillary Clinton possibly respond to such clarity and wisdom?Ben Carson is the kind of candidate we must have if we are going to elect a solid conservative to the White House in 2016.And, if you have any doubts whatsoever about Dr. Carson’s conservative values, just look at this brief list of where he stands on today’s important issues...• National Debt. Cut government spending by 10% each year, across the board, until the budget is balanced! That’s what you and I do when things are tight, and it’s what the government must do.• Obamacare. Repeal it! Replace it with a free market health savings account program that begins at birth and that is owned by each citizen. • Taxes. Follow the Biblical example and make it flat and make sure that everyone has skin in the game. Everyone pays.• Abortion. End it now! It is barbaric, and it is not protected by the Constitution. It contributes to a growing culture of death in our society.• Illegal Immigration. Listen to the American people, secure our borders. End it. • Redistribution of Income. Stop it. It’s un-American and it causes universal misery as socialism always does. • Welfare. It not only encourages self-destructive behavior, it is a trap that dehumanizes those caught in it. Replace it with a truly compassionate, approach that works through churches and other nonprofit groups, enabling those on welfare to share in the American dream. • Judges. Appoint judges committed to the U.S. Constitution. • Political Correctness. It is dangerous. It hinders progress and divides our nation. It keeps us from solving problems and healing America. • Right to Keep & Bear Arms. It’s a vital part of our Bill of Rights! End of story! We will not stop criminals by disarming Americans. • Democrats and Republicans. Both have been part of the problem. They see themselves as masters instead of public servants. America first! • Freedom of Religion. Freedom of religion does not mean freedom from religion. As the Founders repeatedly said, without public virtue, freedom cannot survive. There’s only one remaining question...Will Ben Carson Choose to Run for President?The answer he gives each time he is asked this question is yes, but only if he is called by the American people and if God gives him the direction to do so.This is what Dr. Carson said to Newsmax reporter Bill Hoffmann on January 7, 2014...“If circumstances presented themselves in such a way that there were a lot of people clamoring for me to do that [run for President]... I would certainly have to give it consideration.”In other words, Dr. Carson believes that public office is not something to be grasped, but rather something that one must be called to by his fellow citizens. Dr. Carson has repeatedly made it clear that he will run only if the American people “clamor” for him to run. That means...It’s up to you and me to “clamor” for Dr. Carson to run for President.

And, of course, that’s what the National Draft Ben Carson for President Committee is all about. We have already clamored for Dr. Carson to run for President by collecting more than 200,000 signatures of Americans on petitions urging him to run.In addition, we are running huge, electronic billboards in Baltimore (right), near Dr. Carson’s office, and in Iowa (below) during the midterm caucuses. We are also building powerful grassroots organizations in the early caucus and primary states of Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, North Carolina and Florida. It won’t do any good to convince Dr. Carson to run if there is not an organization in place to secure the nomination for him.

The truth is, we have modeled our effort after the successful Obama campaign of 2012, building a sophisticated software platform that links donors, volunteers and paid staff together in one seamless program.We will need to get every Carson voter out in the Iowa Caucuses and in New Hampshire, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Florida. We already have 3,100 active working volunteers circulating petitions and manning Carson booths at Republican and Tea Party events.This effort has come a long way, but in truth, we have just begun.And, in spite of our success thus far, money is very, very tight.Dollars are needed for office rent, for travel, for salaries, for advertising on national talk radio programs, and to expand our campaign team.If you believe in Dr. Carson as I do, then I urge you to do two things...• Sign the petition urging Dr. Carson to run for President• Contribute today so that we can continue this drive to victory in 2016 Early dollars made it possible for Barack Obama, a freshman Senator, to snatch the Democratic nomination away from Hillary Clinton. Those early dollars paid for a sophisticated software platform that built a powerful grassroots organization that delivered the votes in the primaries and in the general election.Your early dollars will do the same thing for Dr. Ben Carson We have a sophisticated software platform and we are rapidly growing our grassroots organization, especially in the early caucus and primary states.So, won’t you please help today with a gift of at least $35?Your $35 gift today is worth double that amount a year from now.Early money is absolutely essential to the success of this national effort.This is your opportunity to nominate and elect a citizen statesman, Dr. Ben Carson, a man of principle and courage, as the next President of the United States.Please send $35, $50, $100, $500, $1,000 or even more today.Remember, Dr. Ben Carson may be our last hope of saving America. Please help today.Sincerely,

John Philip Sousa, IV National Chairman P.S. My great grandfather, John Philip Sousa, composed the stirring march Stars and Stripes Forever, because he loved this nation dearly. I can’t help but believe that he would have been one of the first signers on the enclosed petition if he were alive today. Won’t you please join in this great cause by signing this petition and by donating at least $35 today? Thank you and God Bless America

Will the mainstream media even touch this? Every listing for this story on Google is a right wing source. Is no one besides the targeted offended by the IRS targeting administration opponents??

Ben Carson, family and friends target of IRS harassment for criticizing Obama

Dr. Ben Carson says he's been targeted by IRS for criticizing Obama

February 11, 2014

On Monday, Dr. Benjamin Carson, the former director of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital, said he and his family were targeted by the IRS in retribution for comments critical of Barack Obama, Newsmax reported.

According to Carson, audits and other harassment began in May or June of 2013, just a few months after his speech at the National Prayer Breakfast. Gradually, he added, the harassment expanded to include family members, associates, and his charitable endeavors.

"I’ve been quite -- I would say astonished at the level of hostility that I have encountered," he told Newsmax TV's John Bachman.

"The IRS has investigated me. They said, ‘I want to look at your real estate holdings.’ There was nothing there. ‘Well, let’s expand to an entire [year], everything.’ There was nothing there. ‘Let’s do another year.’ Finally, after a few months, they went away. But they’ve come after my family, they’ve come after my friends, they’ve come after associates," he added.

Crafty has already posted about this movement to draft Ben Carson, but there is quite an effort going on at CPAC to support this. http://www.nationaljournal.com/politics/is-ben-carson-the-republican-who-can-defeat-hillary-clinton-20140306Their argument is that if a Republican, ANY Republican, can win 17% of the black vote, it is all over for the Democrats. My argument is that with a Rubio-Carson ticket, for example, you could change enough hearts and minds that it would not matter what color, ethnicity, skill set or first language a person has or is, they will want to jump in and earn a piece of the new freedom, peace and prosperity that will be coming to their neighbrhood and their country.

The draft committee raised $2.83 million dollars from 47,000 donors in its first six months of operation, which ended in late February. "We crushed Ready for Hillary in fundraising," http://www.runbenrun.org/

“I’d like to thank brother Malcolm X for explaining the House Negro and Field Negro,” adds “Unabashed class clown” @WiseGuy Eddie, who promises to “make you laugh” in his Twitter profile. “Ben Carson is the former. #CPAC2014″

CEO Elon James White tweets that Carson, whose record in the field of neurosurgery has won plaudits from far beyond the narrow world of politics, defies “science, history, common sense too.”

Other epithets hurled by progressive bigots: “lunatic,” “clown,” “house negro” and beneficiary of the “soft bigotry of low expectations” — this last a sophistical phrase baritone Michael Ditto expropriates from former president George W. Bush.

The high toxicity of progressive venom may be partly explained by Carson’s personal history. Though few Americans may have been aware of Carson prior to his breakthrough speech in the presence of President Obama at a 2013 prayer breakfast, fewer still thought of him as a political player in any regard.

Carson was known him mainly through his books, which straddled the inspirational, popular medical and self-help genres, and which included titles such as The Big Picture: Getting Perspective on What’s Really Important in Life; Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story; and America the Beautiful: Rediscovering What Made This Country Great. Amazon groups Carson’s Take the Risk: Learning to Identify, Choose, and Live with Acceptable Risk among its “Applied Psychology” titles.

That as of late 2012 America the Beautiful was given away to students in the Democrat-controlled Alexandria, Va., public school system, that as of February 2013 Carson was considered a smart choice to share a podium with the president, indicate that the Left viewed Carson as a safely non-political figure.

Carson pointed out Saturday that three signers of the Declaration of Independence were physicians — but it’s clear the leftists attacking him are not overly concerned about his skill in operating, literally, on people’s brains. The embrace between Carson and the Republican party since the prayer breakfast has been mutual and rapid enough to come as a shock to progressive bigots.

In retaliation they have subjected Carson to a string of small-bore sitzkriegs such as a petition demanding that he not give a Johns Hopkins commencement address. These are unlikely to hurt Carson’s standing as either a public figure or potential politician. If they had a case against Carson, the Democrats wouldn’t be going straight to the whip.

Neurosurgeon Ben Carson says the White House wanted him to apologize for “offending” President Obama after he famously delivered a conservative message at the National Prayer Breakfast last year.

Carson, the former director of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital, recalls the events surrounding his 2013 speech in his new book, One Nation: What We Can All Do To Save America’s Future. The Daily Caller obtained an advance copy of the book, which is set for release May 20.

“He did not appear to be hostile or angry,” Carson writes of Obama, “but within a matter of minutes after the conclusion of the program, I received a call from some of the prayer breakfast organizers saying that the White House was upset and requesting that I call the president and apologize for offending him. I said that I did not think that he was offended and that I didn’t think that such a call was warranted.”

Dr. Carson was on Levin's radio show recently and when asked about running he said he would rather not; and said something like, 'who in their right mind would?'Yet he wouldn't rule it out in order to serve.

My opinion is not now for the highest office but maybe in the future or how about a lower office first?

A complete absence of running for any office at any level at all, a near complete absence of executive experience, and no familiarity with foreign affairs of which I am aware all add up to serious gaps in this good man when it comes to running for president or being president.

Carson begins a national book tour today in West Palm Beach, FL. He has a bus with his book cover painted across the vehicle - not unlike Sarah Palin's earlier bus tour. I get the sense that like Palin, though there is lots of talk about his possible candidacy, he's genuinely not interested in running for office. Rather, I surmise he thinks - again like Palin - that he can be more effective speaking and advocating for conservative principles.

I happen to agree with Crafty that executive experience is a key qualification for the job. Much better even, is having risked all of your own money to start and run a successful business. It's key that any leader understand the basics of economics from a micro level at the very least. Obama famously wrote in his first book that during the short time he worked for a public law firm, he felt as if he were working "behind enemy lines." This is consistent with his clear disdain for capitalism. Both he and Mrs. Clinton are skilled Alinsky acolytes, and unfortunately, most of the American public has never read "Rules for Radicals," and has no clue who Alinsky was - much less that these two slavishly follow his prescription for gaining and wielding power.

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"You have enemies? Good. That means that you have stood up for something, sometime in your life." - Winston Churchill.

I lived in West Palm. Across the water from Mar a Lago. Indeed Trump's young wife at the time almost smashed into me making a turn in my direction while I was waiting at red light. She was driving the largest heaviest Mercedes made.

I would have loved to go and purchase Ben's book and shake his hand.

As Objectivist points out Ben did say on Levin he would like to travel and be a spokesperson rather than a candidate for conservativism.

Alas I foolishly live in the crap state of Jersey now. Getting fleeced every way imaginable by the Democrat thugs. Christy hasn't helped much. OTOH how much can he do against an entrenched corrupt system?

One never knows. He seems to have a brilliant mind and is likely a fast learner and obviously has proven himself to be a great student and teacher.

Though I agree with your previous post about him having no executive experience would make me think he is not ready to be VP either.

He did say he doesn't have the fire in the belly to run. I hope more minorities will warm up to him. If only he could win them over. Why can't he reach them? Supporting democrats is only making their lot worse not better. Now with immigrants flooding the country and a Presidential pardon all but certain I would ask all minorities - how does THIS help YOU?

On the face of it, it is SO stupid. Blacks have gone on for four hundred years being the victims and now just as they are finally achieving the status they should have, what do they do? Support to the death a scumbag who is giving THEIR country away to the world. If this wasn't so crazy and terrible and tragic for them as well as the rest of America I would be LOL.

Many blacks, just as with gays and Jews, have been conditioned to be liberals FIRST, and everything else is below that on their political priority list. Although I will say that with RELIGIOUS blacks, there is a higher percentage (though still small) of those with constitutionally-conservative views. I think the same can be said for gays and Jews. All three of these groups seem to vote almost reflexively for the Democrat candidate on the ballot. It doesn't objectively make sense for any of the three.

« Last Edit: June 07, 2014, 08:00:19 PM by objectivist1 »

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"You have enemies? Good. That means that you have stood up for something, sometime in your life." - Winston Churchill.

I think Carson could be a good candidate but I'd rather see him as surgeon general...? I think he and Paul are both *potentially* weak on FP, at least looking at experience, but that fact by itself may make them attractive to Dem's/ Indepedents. Carson is so damn *reasonable* sounding in a dispassionate way.

Nobody is asking, but my Dream Team for the Fantasy Election League at present would be a Cruz-Paul ticket with Allen West as Sec Def, Maybe Condi Rice back as Sec of State if she would do it (or even VP, saving Rand Paul as majority leader). Gowdy or Gohmert for AG, or Gowdy for Ag. Mike Lee for Speaker. Sec. of State, that's a tough one... the world is a mess right now and it would be a tough thankless job. Romney as Secretary of Commerce. I'm not sure who on the conservative side of the field has the most FP experience... Dare I say McCain?

Hey look, that's like a 60% plus minority ticket... Only because I'm white and 'hate' minorities.

Like many Americans, I appreciate the plight of billions of people throughout the world who would like nothing more than to find themselves in the United States, where they could enjoy a much higher standard of living and wonderful opportunities for advancement.

It certainly seems like a compassionate thing to offer them legal status in America and the opportunity to pursue their dreams. It should first be considered, however, that we have millions of people already mired in dire poverty in our inner cities, rural townships, and places such as Appalachia who would certainly appreciate a helping hand before we extend one to foreigners. The same principle is seen when you board an airplane and hear the announcement, “In case of an emergency, oxygen masks will drop from the ceiling. Put yours on first, and then administer help to those around you.” There are many around us already in need of help.

According to President Obama, only those 5 million or so illegals who have been in America for five years or more will benefit from his largesse. He indicates that they will not be eligible for health care and other benefits. Obviously, this fits right into the same category as his promise: “If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor.”Once illegals have legal status, it will be difficult to deny them any of the multitudinous entitlements that are freely distributed throughout our society. Also, we must remember that illegals who have been here for less than five years only have to claim that they have been here longer than that in order to collect goodies. In effect, instead of helping 5 million people, we probably will be aiding at least twice that many.

Even this would not be a problem if we had plenty of money, but the sad fact is our national debt is approaching $18 trillion. If you paid that back at a rate of $1 billion per day, it would take nearly 50 years. Many powerful nations before us have met their fate through fiscal irresponsibility. What makes our leaders think we are immune from the destructive forces of a shaky financial foundation?

The founders of our nation feared that the time would arise when an individual or group of individuals in our government would become intoxicated with their power and attempt to impose their will upon the entire society through dictatorial decrees rather than through the legal process established by our Constitution. For this reason, they established three separate but equal branches of government, dividing the powers. This ingenious method of power division worked beautifully until recently, but one hopes we are about to experience a demonstration of how the separation of powers preserves the integrity of our system. It will require that the legislative and judicial branches of government manifest the necessary courage to stand up for the people they represent.

The American people should not be manipulated into believing that they are heartless simply because they want to preserve the rule of law in our nation and look after their own before they take in others. We also have to consider the millions of people who have immigrated here legally, as well as those who are in the queue. It is incredibly unfair to them to grant amnesty to those who have jumped ahead of them in line illegally. I hope all of our government officials will recall the words of the Pledge of Allegiance, with particular emphasis on the part that says: “with liberty and justice for all.”

It was extremely encouraging to see the United States and Sony eventually stand up to the cyberbullying of the North Koreans by allowing the movie "The Interview" to be released despite threats of retaliation.

Freedom of speech and freedom of expression are hallmarks of American life, and we must jealously guard these values from both internal and external threats. In fact, all of the freedoms guaranteed to American citizens by our Constitution must be steadfastly preserved, or they will be eroded. Vigilance and courage are necessary every day if we are to remain a free society.

I am proud of the president of the United States for taking a tough stand on this issue, although I am not sure that his promise of proportional retaliation is the correct answer. The response should go far beyond proportionality, and an example should be made of the perpetrators by using a host of available options to inflict punishment not be easily forgotten. If we use proportionality as our standard, future adversaries need only consider certain consequences for encroaching on our rights. If, on the other hand, they realize that they will suffer enormous consequences, I believe their adventurism would be tempered.

I do not advocate becoming a bully on the global stage, but I do believe that strength is a quality that is respected by all cultures, regardless of their ideological bent. I remember how much trouble students in my high school in Detroit caused the weak teachers who had no idea of how to control them. There was one teacher, 5 feet tall, who tolerated no foolishness and even the burly football players feared her. You could hear a pin drop in her room, though the same students produced total chaos in other classrooms. She was extremely nice to me and the other cooperative students and would go out of her way to ensure we received a good education. I think the lesson here is obvious.

There was a time when American citizens were relatively safe, no matter where they traveled in the world. Everyone knew that there would be significant consequences for harming Americans. Today, not only is the fear gone, but there is little respect for our leaders because our nation appears to be a paper tiger. This is a situation that can be quickly rectified with courageous and principled leadership. Many will remember the Iran hostage crisis in the late 1970s and early 1980s. During that time, we had a president who was neither feared nor respected. On the day Ronald Reagan was inaugurated as president, the hostages were released.

It is imperative that, as a nation, we say what we mean and we mean what we say. This contributes to the safety and stability of the world and, in the long run, will cost us less money and fewer lives. Our friends around the world should have no better ally, and our enemies should have no fiercer foe. We certainly do not need to make everyone conform to our values, but we must protect and defend those values, including freedom of expression. We should never yield to evil nor should we ignore it at our own peril.

The man has some huge gaps in his preparation for the office, but he has some real big pluses too-- including his apparent temperament. I do hope he will get a chance to show his stuff in the campaign.